The concentrations of total glycerol, unesterified glycerol, and glycerol deriving from triglycerides (triacylglycerols) were measured in 468 fresh human sera from unselected outpatients of a municipal hospital. The distribution mode of free glycerol was log-normal; that of triglycerides was neither normal nor log-normal. A weak but statistically approved correlation between these variables was demonstrated. A comparison of triglyceride concentrations corrected for unesterified glycerol with those based on total glycerol shows that, for the triglycerides determination, analysis for total glycerol and substraction of 0.11 mmol/liter from the resulting value appears to be justified in clinical routine. Subtraction of individual sample-blank values is unnecessary. In a triglyceride concentration range from 1.71 to 2.85 mmol/liter the 95 percentile for the possible error of this procedure ranges from + 0.04 to - 0.08 mmol/liter.

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Abstract— The arylsulphatase A and B patterns of human tissues and leucocytes have been established by isoelectric focussing. Assay conditions, which enable an evaluation of these patterns as quantitatively as possible, have been studied. The dependences of the enzyme patterns on the origin of the tissues and on the storage conditions have been determined. The arylsulphatase A obtained by isoelectric focussing exhibits cerebroside sulphatase activity in the presence of detergents. A purified preparation of the arylsulphatase B likewise shows a significant, although low, cerebroside sulphatase activity. In cases of the conventional types of metachromatic leucodystrophy the arylsulphatase A activity is missing, while in an atypical form of this disease (‘ML Variant’ according to Austinet al. (1965) the arylsulphatase A, B and C activities are deficient. In both forms, however, residual activities of the deficient enzymes could be detected which showed isoelectric points identical to those of the normal enzymes. The following nomenclature is proposed: ‘Variant B’ for the conventional type, in which the arylsulphatase B activity is present, and ‘Variant O’ for the exceptional cases, in which all arylsulphatase activities are deficient. The significance of the cerebroside sulphatase activity of arylsulphatase B for a possible residual turnover of cerebroside sulphates in the conventional type of the disease is discussed.

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